Employees who use their vehicles for work purposes will be able to claim back slightly more from the taxman, whether you base your deduction on the prescribed rate or the deemed costs in the table published by the South African Revenue Service.
The prescribed rate for the 2016/17 tax year is R3.29 a kilometre, up from R3.18 a kilometre in 2015/16. The deemed costs for fuel have been increased by between 3.7 cents (for vehicles valued up to R80 000) and 6.1 cents (vehicles valued at more than R480 000), while the deemed costs for maintenance have been increased by between 1.5 cents and 3.9 cents.
If you receive a travel allowance and want to claim your business mileage, don’t forget to record your odometer reading on Monday, February 29.